A Public Affair
by Doctor Addison Montgomery
Summary: COMPLETE! Sam, Kerry, Andrea, Honey, Suzie and Mia head out for a girls only night on the town but don't realise that it's the same night that the boys have arranged their own boys night out! Pairings: SP, KS, AN, HD, SZ and MM. Please R&R! xxx
1. Ladies Night

**A Public Affair**

Summary: Sam, Kerry, Andrea, Honey, Suzie and Mia head out for a girls only night on the town but don't realise that it's the same night that the boys have arranged their own boys night out! Pairings: SP, KS, AN, HD, SZ and MM. Please review! Vikki x x x

**Chapter One: Ladies Night**

"I'm so looking forward to tonight!" Kerry Young said to Andrea Dunbar as they both got into the area car on a particularly wet Friday morning in September.

"I know, me too." Andrea replied. "It's been ages since we've had a girls night out."

Kerry nodded. "After the past fews months I could do with a night free of men!"

"So could I." Andrea sighed. Kerry was one of the few people who knew about her affair with DI Neil Manson. They had been seeing each other for nearly three months but it was hard to keep it a secret. Neil was married with a four year old son and his job took up a great deal of his time. Dividing his time between his job and his family meant that he didn't have much time to spend with Andrea.

"It should be a good night." Kerry said to fill the silence.

Andrea nodded. "Yeah it should. Who's coming?"

"You and me, Honey, Sam, Suzie and the new Press Officer."

"Mia?" Andrea asked.

Kerry nodded as she indicated to turn right.

"Do you think she can tear herself away from Mickey for one night?" Andrea joked.

"Mia and Mickey are together?" Kerry asked, Andrea was the relief's way to get gossip from CID, well she was Kerry and Honey's way to get gossip anyway.

"Yeah, they have been for a while."

"Aww that's really sweet." Kerry laughed.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Honey Harman was paired to work with Dan that day and she was happy about it. She and Dan had been good friends and could have been more than just friends if she hadn't got herself involved with Will Fletcher. That had been a mistake, Honey had made mistakes before but never one that meant she lost something so important to her. It was the same with all good things, you don't really realise how much they mean to you until you lose them and that was what had happened when she had dated Will.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Samantha Nixon was also looking forward to a night out on the town with the girls. She and Phil had tried to start dating recently but it had all gone very wrong when Phil's ex Kate had turned up. It wouldn't have been anywhere near as bad if Kate hadn't been there to tell Phil that she was convinced she was pregnant with his child. Now he was rekindling his marriage with Cindy and the hope of anything ever happening between them was now dead. Sam just wanted to let her hair down and have a good laugh. The job had been getting more stressful recently and she just wanted some time out to relax. A girls night out was just what she needed.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Suzie Sim had spent months studying non stop for her Sergeants exams. Finally they were over and now she could relax a lot more, at least until the results came out anyway. She hoped that she had done well, she really wanted to get a position as Detective Sergeant but at the same time she didn't want to leave Sun Hill either. For now she just wanted to have some fun and going out for drinks and dancing was exactly what she needed.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mia Perry had been a little nervous about becoming the new Press Officer at Sun Hill. She had heard a lot about the police station, some good things and some not so good. She was enjoying working there though and the people she had met so far seemed nice; especially a certain blond Detective Constable. When she came to Sun Hill Mia hadn't expected to fall for a guy along the way. She and Mickey had been on a few dates together and they thought that something special was beginning to grow between them. Mia was also looking forward to spending some time with the girls as well, hopefully it would make her feel more like she belonged there. They were all looking forward to that night but they didn't know that another night out was being planned at the same time.


	2. Boys Night Out

**A Public Affair  
Chapter Two: Boys Night Out**

Phil looked across the room to where Sam Nixon was sitting at her desk working. She was reading for a stack of papers on her crowded but neat desk, her head was resting on her hand and her face showed pure concentration. She looked beautiful just sitting there, the sun shining over her and making her blonde hair glow. He wanted to go over and talk to her but he knew he wasn't exactly her favourite person and interrupting her when she was working was never a good idea. Especially not now, a while ago she might have forgiven him for stopping her from working, she may even have been grateful for the break and enjoyed flirting with him. Now it was so different. At least tonight he knew he could go out and drink far too much beer, it would make another evening go by more quickly and it was another one that he wouldn't have to spend alone.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Mickey was working the DI on a case and he couldn't help noticing that his superior seemed more than a little distracted throughout the day. Mickey didn't want to say anything but by the end of the shift he couldn't keep quiet about it anymore.

"Guv, is there something up?...I mean..." He stopped, feeling foolish as Neil looked at him.

He gave a little sigh. "I'm fine thanks Mickey." He paused. "Are you coming out for that drink tonight?" Neil had been assure whether or not to agree to go out with the boys from CID and the relief but when Andrea said she was going to be busy he thought he might as well.

"Drink? I think you mean drinks plural guv." Mickey joked. He hadn't wanted to go out, he had wanted to spend more time with his new girlfriend Mia but when she said she wanted to get to know her colleagues more closely he agreed to join his friends too.

Neil laughed. "I guess that means a yes then?"

Mickey nodded. "You can count me in alright!"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zain and Suzie were working together on an obbo together and while they waited for the suspect to appear they had a casual conversation.

"You doing anything tonight?" Suzie asked, she felt awkward, she had liked Zain for a long time but he never showed any sign of feeling the same way back.

"Just a few drinks, you?" Zain replied, he wasn't really concentrating, his focus was really on catching the criminal even though he did enjoy talking to Suzie. Everyone moaned about her and found her annoying but Zain liked her, he didn't fancy her as such but she was a good friend.

"Yeah, meeting some mates." Suzie said casually. She wished it wasn't so difficult to talk to Zain. She wasn't like it with any of her other male colleagues, she could get on easily with Terry and Mickey and Neil was like family to her.

"There he is!" Zain said, picking up the camera and taking pictures. For once he was glad to end the conversation with Suzie, things were getting more difficult, especially seeing as he had no idea how he really felt about her. Maybe he'd meet someone new tonight when he was out although it was supposed to be just the boys for once.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dan really hated working with Honey. It wasn't that he didn't like her, that was the problem. He just liked her too much but she had made her choice and it hadn't been him. Now Dan found it hard to forgive her although he knew what Will could be like when it came to women. Honey seemed to want to be friends with him again but he found it hard to let go of the past. He wanted to meet someone new too, someone he had no history with but he wasn't sure if he could let go of his feelings for Honey that easily.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Smithy wasn't having the best time with women either, especially not recently. He had fallen for Kerry when he had first arrived in Sun Hill as the new sergeant but things had changed when he saw a side to her he hadn't known before. Now she had just finished a relationship with Cameron Tait who had gone back to his home in Australia and he didn't know how he felt about Kerry anymore. He had loved her but he'd never told her and now he was scared of admitting his feelings, he didn't want to get rejected again. Smithy was fed of having woman trouble, sometimes he was sure it was easier not to bother. At least a night of too much beer would cure some of the problems. That's what he thought anyway.  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I'm trying to pre-write some of this so I can post (fairly) regularly. Hope you like this chapter, things get a bit more interesting next chapter! Please review! Vikki x x x


	3. Drinking Games

**A Public Affair  
****Chapter 3: Drinking Games**

_Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far! I really appreciate it! I hope you like this chapter lol! Will try and update again this week! Please keep reviewing, luv Vikki xxx_

_------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_There go the streetlights - the night's officially on_

_I got the green light - to do whatever I want_

_I'm gonna stand - outside - the box - and put the rules on hold._

The girls met outside the Canley Arms at seven o'clock; their first stop of the night. None of them could take their eyes off Suzie. They were used to seeing her with her hair tied back and wearing smart dark suits everyday of the week but tonight they were surprised. Suzie's had curled her hair and it fell over her shoulders in gentle waves and she was wearing a short black strappy dress with matching heels. It was her first chance to really let her hair down and have a laugh in too long and she was going to do it in style.

"You look great Suzie." Honey grinned.

"Thanks." Suzie replied, smiling shyly. "You do too."

Once everyone had arrived they walked into the pub together and took seats at the bar. Sam ordered the drinks and the barman talked to them while he got their orders ready. It was obvious to everyone apart from Suzie that the barman was flirting with her but she was totally oblivious, if truth be told her thoughts were actually on Zain. This was a girls night out, no men involved. Not yet anyway...

_Tonight Carte blanch first class for the evening_

_Ready set go_

_All the girls steppin' out for a public affair_

_(All night, let's rock, 'cause the party don't stop)_

_All the cameras come out for a public affair_

_(Who care, let's rock, 'cause the party don't stop)_

"C'mon girls get in the picture!" Kerry said, waving them into position as she took out her digital camera. They wanted photographic proof of their night out.

"Let me take it for you." A voice said from behind her, she turned around and came face to face with a man in his late twenties. He was tall, at least six foot and had short, curly brown hair and chocolate brown eyes.

"Thanks." Kerry smiled, gratefully and handed him the camera. "I'm Kerry, by the way."

"Nice to meet you Kerry." He smiled. "I'm Ross."

Kerry shook his hand and went to take her position between Honey and Mia.

"Who was he?" Andrea asked, once Kerry had got her camera back from Ross and had joined the girls outside for location number two.

"Ross." Kerry replied with a smile.

"Did you get his number then?" Honey asked, joining in their conversation and poking Kerry in the ribs.

"I thought this was a strictly ladies only night." Kerry replied. Mia looked at her guiltily and put her phone away from where she had been about to text Mickey. "Don't think I didn't see that Ms. Perry!" Kerry laughed.

There next stop was the Seven Bells and then after that they planned on checking out some of the new clubs in Canley.

_Hey baby, I see you lookin' over here baby_

_Are you gonna keep lookin' or get up?_

_And talk to me_

_Here's an opportunity you don't wanna miss tonight_

Mia watched as Kerry, Honey and Andrea danced drunkenly to a club song that was playing, she was sitting with Suzie and Sam at a table. They were sipping from brightly coloured cocktails and laughing.

"Are you okay?" Suzie asked, seeing the distant look on Mia's face.

Mia nodded, looking at Suzie and smiling. "Yeah sorry, was just thinking about..."

"Don't say it!" Honey warned as she took a seat between Mia and Sam, Kerry and Andrea took the other two empty chairs. "Right, here's my rule. Everytime any of us mention one of the guys from work by name we have to take a shot. No excuses okay?"

They laughed and agreed and carried on talking. Mia apologised as her mobile rang and pulled it from her handbag. She looked at the screen and up at her friends.

"It's Mickey." She said.

Honey coughed loudly and pushed a shot glass of vodka across the table towards Mia.

"You said it!" She laughed. Mia groaned.

"Fine, but anymore of these and you'll have to carry me home!" She laughed, downing the alcohol in one gulp.

"I'm sure Mickey will carry you home if we rang him." Honey laughed.

Kerry passed her a glass.

"What?" Honey asked, taking the glass but not drinking the shot.

"You said it too." Kerry replied.

"Oh. Wait...said what?" Honey asked.

"You said Mickey!" Kerry said, as if it was obvious. "Damn!" She realised what she'd done. She and Honey downed their drinks while Andrea, Sam and Suzie watched in fits of giggles.

_Tonight Carte blanch first class for the evening_

_Ready set go_

_All the girls steppin' out for a public affair_

_(All night, let's rock, 'cause the party don't stop)_

_All the cameras come out for a public affair_

_(Who care, let's rock, 'cause the party don't stop)_

Starting to feel a little lightheaded the girls headed back out onto the dancefloor. Sam moved across to where Suzie and Mia were dancing.

"Is it me or does that guy over there look like Phil?" Sam asked, then she realised to late as Suzie and Mia took her by an arm each and marched her over to the bar. "Not funny." Sam said as she swallowed the drink.

"You seemed to think it was earlier I seem to remember." Mia teased.

"Okay, fair enough!" Sam laughed.

Half an hour later they were all sat around the table again, trying to get their breath back.

"I think we should play a game." Sam said.

"What kinda game?" Honey replied, her speech getting slurred.

"Drink, truth or dare." Sam said. She quickly explained the rules it was like truth or dare but with a twist. "Who wants to go first?" Sam asked, looking around the table.

"Fine I will." Andrea replied.

"Truth or dare?" She asked, the forfeit was drinking a shot.

Andrea thought about this. "As I'm going first, it's gotta be truth."

"Okay." Sam thought hard for a moment. "Have you ever kissed a colleague."

Andrea blushed a similar colour to her flourescent pink cocktail.

"Maybe..." She replied.

"Yes or no?"

Andrea nodded slowly. "Yes."

They all looked at her in surprise, apart from Honey and Kerry who knew the truth.

"Hmm...I nominate...Suzie." Andrea said. "Truth or dare."

"Truth."

"Do you or do you not fancy a certain male DC with the initals ZN?" Andrea asked, knowing better than to say his name.

Suzie blushed and leaned across the table to pick up a shot glass and downed it.

"I guess that means a yes then!" Honey whispered to Andrea.

_Do what you wanna do, tonight the world does not exist_

_No, no, no_

_Move how you wanna move_

_All my girls - work it out like this_

_Give me room to, shake, shake, shake, shake_

It was now Suzie's turn to nominate someone.

"I'll pick...Honey..." Honey groaned. "Truth or dare Honey?"

Honey groaned again. "Alright, I'll do a dare."

"Hmm...go and ask that guy over there to dance with you." Suzie said, pointing to a man on the dancefloor. They turned around to see where she was pointing.

"Oh my God, it's Ross!" Kerry said in surprise, giving Honey a shove.

They all watched and cheered as Honey danced with him and then she came and sat back down and the game moved on.

Kerry chose to drink instead of deciding whether her experiences with Cameron or Smithy were better, Mia went for truth and said she had slept with Mickey. The last person left was Sam and it was Mia's turn to ask.

"Sam, truth or dare?"

Sam looked thoughtful. "Wait a minute...is that who I think it is over there?"

"Nice evasion tactic Sam, but you have to do this sometime." Suzie laughed.

"No, I'm serious. Look over there." They turned to the entrance and they realised that Sam was right. Which brought their girls night out to a close.

_All the girls steppin' out for a public affair_

_(All night, let's rock, 'cause the party don't stop)_

_All the cameras come out for a public affair_

_(Who care, let's rock, 'cause the party don't stop)_


	4. Dance, Dance

**A Public Affair  
Chapter 4: Dance, Dance**

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and especially Bex who helped me and gave me ideas for this chap! Enjoy! Oh and please, please review because my GCSE results come out tomorrow and I need cheering up! Luv, Vikki xxxx

_She says she's no good with words_

_But I'm worse_

_Barely stuttered out, 'A joke of a romantic,"_

_Or just stuck to my tongue_

_Weighed down with words, too overdramatic_

They started their evening in an Indian restaurant in Canley and sat talking and joking while they ate. Neil felt a little bit left out, he didn't usually spend a lot of time with friends from work because he was usually trying to fit in spending time with his family or more recently trying to find time to spend with Andrea. He tried to join in the conversations but he still felt like he didn't quite belong. Maybe later, after a few drinks he would begin to feel part of the group. He was sat between Smithy and Phil and they tried to include him in their conversations. Mickey was sat opposite Phil and he tried not to be discreet in checking his mobile every five minutes.

"Mickey, is our company really that boring?" Phil asked, after he had checked his phone for the eighth or ninth time during the meal.

Mickey looked up at him, his cheeks turning an embarrassed shade of pink. It made him very grateful for the dimmed lighting in the restaurant. "Huh?" He replied but he knew what Phil meant.

"You keep looking at your phone, I just wondered if we were boring you?" Phil said, an amused look on his face.

"Just checking to see if Mia had text me." Mickey replied.

"I thought we agreed." Smithy added. "That there were no girls allowed tonight."

Zain and Dan nodded too.

"Yeah I know but..."

"No buts." Phil said, and Mickey turned his phone off before they headed off to their first of many bars of the night.

_Tonight it's_

_"It can't get much worse"_

_vs "No one should ever feel like..."_

_I'm two quarters and a heart down_

_And I don't want to forget how your voice sounds_

_These words are all I have, so I'll write them._

_You'll need them just to get by_

They moved onto their second bar after two rounds of beer, the conversation soon began to come round to a topic they had planned on forgetting about, if only for one evening. After one too many drinks secrets are more likely to come out.

"So," Phil began, looking across the round table to where Zain and Smithy were sitting. "Have you ever had a crush on someone at work?" He asked.

"I think that's a yes for Mickey!" Zain replied, avoiding the question.

Mickey laughed and then looked straight at Zain.

"And what about you posh boy? Have you ever had a crush on someone from the station?" He asked.

Zain blushed and looked away. "No, I haven't."

"Aww come on!" Mickey protested.

Zain laughed. "Honestly I never have, I like to keep business and pleasure separate." He said.

"What about Sam?" Mickey pressed. "Or..." It dawned on him. "Hey, what about Suzie. I saw the two of you get pretty cosy during an obbo."

Zain ignored the temptation to throw his beer over Mickey.

"Zain and Sam!" Phil laughed, but he was only trying to hide his jealousy. "What would Sam want with Zain?"

Smithy and Dan burst out laughing at this.

"She did agree to date you though, didn't she?" Zain said.

"That's true." Neil replied, joining in now that he felt part of the gang.

_Dance, dance_

_We're falling apart to half-time_

_Dance, dance_

_And these are the lives you love to lead_

_Dance,_

_This is the way they'd love_

_If they knew misery loved me_

Phil was eager to steer the conversation away from himself and Sam and he really didn't want to talk about their failed relationship in public. They decided to head to a new club that had opened recently and then after that to a club they all knew well. They took their seats around an empty table and ordered in another round of drinks.

"If you could go for a drink with anyone from Sun Hill how would it be?" Dan asked.

"Relief or CID?" Neil replied, surprising himself.

"Um, one of each." Dan said. "And seeing as you sort of volunteered you can go first...guv."

"It's Neil tonight, please not guv!"

"Okay, guv." Dan laughed, realising he had done it again. "Anyway who would you choose as your drinking partner?"

Neil pretended to look thoughtful, his choice from uniform was easy but he didn't want to give it away.

"Hm, from the relief it would have to be Sam I think." Phil tried not to glare at his superior. "And from the relief maybe Andrea Dunbar?"

They looked at him in surprise then moved on to the next person, Smithy.

"Don't make me do this!" He laughed. "Okay, from CID I agree with Neil, it has to be Sam and from relief it's still got to be Kerry." He said sadly.

Next it was Phil's turn.

"CID is easy, it has to be Sam, not question about it. Uniform is a bit more difficult...hm...I think it would have to be Honey." He decided finally.

Dan nearly spat out his mouthful of lager. First Will and now Phil both liked Honey, he wondered if he'd ever get another chance to be with her or if she preferred people like Will and Phil. It was Zain's turn next.

"Don't make me do this!" He cringed, knowing he'd have to confess to his small but growing crush on Suzie. "Alright, from CID I'd choose Suzie, say what you what, and from uniform probably Andrea." Zain was surprised to see Neil looked flushed and ever so slightly irritated, had he said the wrong thing? Zain knew that there had been history between the DI and Suzie but he knew that was over now and he hadn't chosen her out of the women of CID. He shrugged it off and turned to Mickey who was next.

_You always fold just before you're found out_

_Drink up it's last call_

_Last resort_

_But only the first mistake...and I_

_I'm two quarters and a heart down_

_And I don't want to forget how your voice sounds_

_These words are all I have, so I'll write them  
So you'll need them just to get by._

"Is Mia part of CID?" Mickey asked hopefully looking around the table. Everyone shook their heads. "Fine then, I think from CID I'd choose Suzie and from uniform...I don't know, probably Kerry." Zain was glad that Mickey had chosen Suzie too so he wasn't the only one but he was also glad that Mickey was already seeing someone else.

Last was Dan and then they were going to move onto their last destination of the night before heading home to beds followed by hangovers.

"So Dan, who are you going to choose?" Mickey asked, doing his best, or possibly worst, Cilla Black impression.

"From CID I'd choose Sam as well and from uniform." He pretended to be thinking really hard but he knew he couldn't postpone the moment any longer. "And from uniform it'll be Honey."

"I knew it!" Smithy said, just a little too loud. Dan went bright red and glared across at Smithy, he didn't know it was that obvious. "Don't look at me like that, it's obvious she likes you too."

Now that everyone had had their turn they decided to move onto the club.

_Dance, dance_

_We're falling apart to half-time_

_Dance, dance_

_And these are the lives you love to lead_

_Dance,_

_This is the way they'd love_

_If they knew misery loved me  
Why don't you show me the little bit of spine_

_You've been saving for his mattress_

_I only want sympathy in the form of you _

_Crawling into bed with me._

Phil walked in first but stopped dead in the doorway. Over on the other side of the room seated at a table he thought he saw people he recognised, maybe it was just the alcohol or maybe it was something more. He took another step forward and he was sure. Their boys night out was officially over.


	5. Rendezvous

**A Public Affair  
Chapter 5: Rendezvous**

This chapter is for everyone who has read and reviewed! Thank you soo much and pleased keep reviewing! Vikki x x x

SPSKANHDSZMMSPSKANHDSZMMSPSKANHDSZMMSPSKANHDSZMMSPSKANHDSZMM

"See, I wasn't lying." Sam said, as the girls looked to see where and what she was pointing at.

"Oh my God." Andrea said, when she spotted what Sam had meant.

"What are they doing here?" Kerry asked.

"I can't believe they gatecrashed our ladies night!" Honey said indignantly.

"They're heading this way." Mia added. "Mickey's here too!" She said, she hadn't exactly told him what she was really going to be up to but then he had also said that he was spending time with his friends.

"This isn't funny." Suzie said, seeing that Zain was with them too. "And Sam didn't get her turn either."

Sam groaned inwardly, she had hoped that everyone would have forgotten all about it now.

"How could we forget?" Mia said. "Okay, I dare you to go over there and ask them what they hell they think they are doing by crashing our party."

"What if I chose truth?" Sam asked.

"Fine." Mia replied, looking around the group for help.

"Is it true that you kissed Phil at last year's Christmas party?" Kerry asked.

Colour rushed to Sam's cheeks.

"How did you know about that?" She demanded defensively.

Honey giggled. "So it's true then?"

"Yes fine, it is the truth but it that was then and this is now, anyway it was ages ago."

Suzie counted backwards on her fingers. "Well only eight months really."

"Shut up Suzie." Sam replied jokingly. "Anyway are we going to go over and talk to them or not? I'm not going on my own!" She swiftly managed to change the subject and they headed over to where the boys were standing, having just spotted them.

SPSKANHDSZMMSPSKANHDSZMMSPSKANHDSZMMSPSKANHDSZMMSPSKANHDSZMM

"Mia!" Mickey exclaimed, seeing that his girlfriend was there as well.

"Hi Mickey." She blushed, she was embarrassed. So far they had managed to keep their relationship quite quiet and this was an awkward situation for them both.

"Can I buy you a drink?" Mickey asked.

Mia nodded, although they had both had far too much to drink already, they made their escape to the bar together.

SPSKANHDSZMMSPSKANHDSZMMSPSKANHDSZMMSPSKANHDSZMMSPSKANHDSZMM

Sam took a step closer to them; a step closer to Phil.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded.

"Good question, we were gonna ask you the same fing." Smithy slurred back.

"Well I'm going." Kerry said, turning on her heel and walking over to where Ross was waving to her from a vacant table. Smithy watched her go, she had hurt him so much but he still felt something so strong for her.

Dan took a step closer to Honey, she had hurt him too but he knew he should have told her how he felt sooner.

"Do you want to dance?" He asked nervously.

Honey nodded, smiling up at him. "I'd like that." She replied, her heart beating a little faster in her chest. She wished she's realised how she felt about Dan before going off with Will who had well and truly messed her about.

They went off to dance together leaving Sam, Phil, Smithy, Zain, Suzie, Andrea and Neil standing together in a group. Neil tried to make eye contact with Andrea. She finally got the message and they moved away from the group slowly so that it wouldn't be so noticable. Ten minutes later they met around the back of the club.

SPSKANHDSZMMSPSKANHDSZMMSPSKANHDSZMMSPSKANHDSZMMSPSKANHDSZMM

"I've been missing you." Andrea confessed once they knew they couldn't be overhead.

Neil took a step closer to her. "I've been missing you too, so much."

Andrea smiled as he took her face in his hands and kissed her lips. They broke apart and Andrea wrapped her arms around his neck, he placed his hands on her waist. They moved together until Andrea's back was against the stone wall, Neil kissed her more passionatley. Andrea held on tightly to his neck and returned his kisses.

"Not here." She whispered when they finally paused for breath. Neil nodded, giving her one last kiss before leading her to his car by the hand.

SPSKANHDSZMMSPSKANHDSZMMSPSKANHDSZMMSPSKANHDSZMMSPSKANHDSZMM

"I can't believe you came here and like totally ruined our evening!" Sam ranted at Phil when they were left alone, she was so angry that she had trouble getting her words out. Although the alcohol could share quite a lot of the blame.

"Ruined your evening?" Phil shot back. "What about our evening?"

"You could've told us." Sam reasoned.

"You didn't tell us." Phil retorted.

"We had no reason to."

"Neither did we."

Sam sighed, this was getting them nowhere. She voiced her opinion and Phil nodded, finally they agreed on something.

"You didn't have to come to the same club though." Sam added angrily as an after thought.

"How were we supposed to know!" Phil asked.

"You are so infuriating!" Sam shouted at him.

"Oh, I'm infuriating! God knows what that makes you!"

Their faces were inches from each other now, their lips getting closer and closer as they exchanged their angry words. Soon the distance between them closed completley and their lips were meeting in a fiery kiss. It was like Christmas all over again.

SPSKANHDSZMMSPSKANHDSZMMSPSKANHDSZMMSPSKANHDSZMMSPSKANHDSZMM

Suzie and Zain stood awkwardly, neither of them trusting themselves to speak first or make the first move. They sipped their drinks and watched the others in the club. Kerry was dancing with Ross leaving Smithy sulking into a drink at a nearby table, Honey and Dan were dancing together looking happy and sharing the occassional kiss, Sam and Phil appeared to be reliving their Christmas kiss, Mia and Mickey were talking at the bar and Andrea and Neil were nowhere to be seen. It would have seemed suspicious to Suzie and Zain if there was less alcohol flowing through their bloodstream.

"Do you want to get out of here?" Zain asked.

Suzie nodded and followed him not knowing exactly where they were going. He lead her to a park opposite the club, it was still quite quiet as the pubs and clubs were still open. Suzie and Zain wandered around the park together, the fresh night air began to sober them up a little.

"We should do this more often." Zain said, stopping to sit on a bench, Suzie took a seat next to him feeling secretly pleased.

"We should." She smiled. "Oh my God!" She exclaimed.

"What?" Zain asked, looking at her.

"Is that the DI and Andrea?"


	6. Deja Vu

**A Public Affair  
Chapter 6: Deja Vu**

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
Thanks for all your reviews guys! I really appreciate it! Hope you like this chapter! Will be more soon but I'll be busy soon but I'll try and update as much as poss! Please review! Vikki x x x

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Suzie was right, it was Andrea and Neil who she spotted from her seat on the park bench next to Zain Nadir. She never would have suspected the DI to be having an affair with a probationer, she was surprised that he was having an affair at all, he was supposed to be happily married. Suzie had worked with Neil before and thought she knew him quite well but clearly not. She watched as he lead Andrea by the hand and then opened the passenger door of his car for her. Neil walked around to the driver's side and got in, before he started the engine he leant over to kiss Andrea on the lips. There was no way she could have misinterpreted the situation, Suzie knew that much. Zain was staring open mouthed from beside her.

"You saw that too, right?" Zain asked.

Suzie nodded. "That definitley wasn't the alcohol Zain!"

"Do you want me to drop you home?" Zain asked. "Or are you going to get a taxi."

"I don't think you're in a fit state to drive DC Nadir!" Suzie laughed.

Zain got to his feet and wobbled slightly before being able to walk properly again.

"You could be right there DS Sim!" He laughed too.

They walked back to the pub arm in arm and waited for a taxi to arrive.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Andrea jumped out of the car and ran upstairs to her flat while Neil drove around looking for a place to park his car. She pulled a bottle of chilled wine from the fridge and found two glasses from the cupboard. While she was waiting for Neil, Andrea let her dark brown hair down from the bun it had been in, she reapplied her make up and poured the wine into the two glasses. She had no idea why she felt so nervous about this. Feeling much more sober than she had before, Andrea went to answer the door and she heard Neil knock.

"Hey." He smiled, stepping inside and taking off his jacket. It had begun to run outside and Neil's coat was covered in raindrops, as was his hair. He also slipped off his shoes and he and Andrea went into the warmth of the living room. They took seat on the deep purple sofa and sipped from the wine glasses. The atmosphere was almost awkward between them and that hardly ever happened. They set their glasses down at the same time, Andrea slid further down the sofa; moving into Neil's arms. He kissed her forehead and held her close for a moment, before moving his lips down to meet hers. Before either of them managed to get a control on the situation they were moving towards Andrea's bedroom, shedding clothes and sharing kisses as they did so. A while later Andrea lay awake in Neil arms, he gently stroked her wavy hair. They led in silence, listening to each other breathing, Neil broke through the silence.

"I miss you so much." He said.

Andrea laughed lightly. "I'm right here."

"I know but I still don't have you completley do I?"

Andrea moved so that she could look at him.

"Yes you do." She reassured him, but she couldn't help thinking it was the other way around and it was her that didn't completley have Neil because she had to share him with Philippa.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Smithy couldn't take it anymore, he had watched for the past half an hour as Kerry had dance, drunk and flirted with Ross and he couldn't bear it from much longer. He knew that he had taken advantage of Kerry in the past but never to intentionally hurt her, he had become protective of her now and wouldn't let another man take her for a ride.

"Come on Kerry." He said, marching over and taking her by the arm much to the disgust of Kerry and Ross. "We're getting you home, now." He added, using his Sergeant Smith voice.

"If you don't mind Smithy, I'm actually having fun." Kerry said drunkenly, Ross nodded and smiled too.

"Too bad, I'm taking you home...now." Smithy repeated.

"Fine but you spoil everything." Kerry sulked, she turned to Ross and Smithy watched painfully as Kerry gave Ross a lingering by slobbery kiss.

"I can't believe you did that?" Kerry said loudly once Smithy had managed to drag her away and help her outside.

"What, saving you from wasting yourself on a guy like him?" Smithy replied.

"Shut up, he was nice."

"You were drunk."

"You're no fun." Kerry replied, stumbling a little in her heels.

"Are you okay?" Smithy asked, putting out his arms to support her.

"I will be." Kerry said, turning around to be sick. Smithy put out his hand and Kerry grabbed onto it before he lead her over to a low wall and they sat down together. "Well that certainly would have got rid of Ross!" She laughed, feeling more sober now. "But not you." She said quietly.

Smithy shook his head. "But not me."

Kerry smiled at him, wishing more than anything that she had never let him go.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm so sorry about all of this." Mia apologised in the car on the way back to Mickey's house.

"Don't be." Mickey quickly turned to smile at her from the driver's seat.

"It was really embarrassing and I know you wanted to keep our relationship quiet." Mia continued.

"It's fine Mia, honestly it's okay!" Mickey insisted.

"I just feel bad." Mia sighed.

"You don't need to. I really like you and I'm proud to be with you."

Mia smiled at Mickey. "Me too."

They drove the rest of the way home in friendly silence, one of Mickey's Snow Patrol CD playing in the background. He reached for the volume switch as his favourite song came on.

"_Just give me a chance to hold on  
Just give me something to hold onto  
It's so clear now that you are all that I have  
I have no fear 'cause you are all that I have."_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sam wrapped her arms around Phil's neck and pulled his face closer to hers. Phil continued to kiss her, holding her tightly in his arms. This felt so familiar, it was almost like deja vu.

_The room was full of people and totally unrecognisable as the Sun Hill canteen as it had been twelve hours ago. Now the room was decorated with flashing fairy light, tinsel, Christmas trees and mistletoe. All of Sun Hill's finest had turned out for the night to celebrate the annual Christmas party. Phil had watched Sam across the room as she laughed with Jo and Zain at the drinks table. She looked stunning tonight in a strappy, knee length, cranberry coloured dress, he had forgotten how beautiful she was. Things between them had been good recently and he was hoping that with some Christmas magic things might get better._

_Later that evening Phil was walking down the corridor in search of his coat and mobile phone when he saw Sam going in the opposite direction. It was the first chance they'd had to speak all night._

_"Hi Phil." She smiled at him._

_"Hey, you looked really nice tonight Sam." He replied._

_"Thanks." Sam blushed. "You look good too." She paused seeing where he was headed. "You're not going home yet are you, you can't go yet!"_

_If Phil had been thinking about going home he certainly would have changed his mind now. He shook his head._

_"I was just going to check my phone."_

_"Oh okay." Sam replied._

_"But it's not important." Phil continued._

_Sam smiled. "Good, I'm glad."_

_"You are?" Phil replied, surprised but pleased at the same time._

_Sam nodded, blushing slightly. "Do you want to go back to the party?" She asked him._

_Phil shrugged. "I'm not really fussed, it's just the same old work Christmas do."_

_Sam nodded again, acting on impulse she leant up to kiss him._

_"What was that for..." He began but stopped himself and kissed her back._

_It was definitely not just 'the same old' work party this year._

_Know that I can't get over you  
Cause everything I see is you  
And I don't want no substitute  
Baby, I swear it's Déjà Vu  
Know that I can't get over you  
Cause everything I see is you  
And I don't want no substitute  
Baby, I swear it's Déjà Vu  
- Deja Vu by Beyonce & Jay Z_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Look at Sam and Phil!" Honey said, pointing in their direction from where she was dancing in Dan's arms.

Dan turned to look where she was pointing. He looked back at her and smiled.

"Do you think they're going to regret that tomorrow?" He asked.

"I don't know, it's obvious there's something between them. Everytime you go into CID and they're there you could cut the sexual tension with a knife!" Honey laughed.

Dan nodded in agreement. "I know, I just never thought they'd actually get their act together!"

Honey looked him straight in the eye. "Maybe you could learn something from them."

"Honey, I'm sorry. I feel really bad about what happened, and how Will treated you. I just wished I'd come clean about how I felt sooner." Dan explained.

"And how do you feel?" Honey asked.

Dan kissed her lips gently, hoping that would explain everything.


	7. Dancing In The Dark

**A Public Affair  
****Chapter 7 : Dancing In The Dark**

**Sorry it took longer to update this than I thought! (Thanks to all my reviewers, you guys should know who you are now! xxx) I've got a lot more ideas now so updates can be a bit more frequent although A level work is piling up! There's not any MiaMickey this time but there story continues next chapter! Song in this chapter is 'Dancing in the Dark' by Mickey Modelle vs Jessy - not mine! Please review! Vikki x x x**

_Can we try again to start a new and lovely story_

_That will shine a ray of light upon our hearts_

_And bring back long lost glory _

_Of how it used to be_

_Baby you and me_

_Convinced we were each other's destiny_

"Do you ever wish things could have been different?" Smithy asked, grateful for the darkness that hid the colour that was rushing to his cheeks.

Kerry's voice caught in her throat as she tried to reply. She cleared her throat and tried to begin again.

"All the time." She finally answered quietly. She stared down at the paving beneath her feet. Kerry and Smithy were still sat outside the club on a low stone wall.

"Really?" Smithy asked, feeling a little more confident now as he turned to face her.

Kerry nodded, not lifting her eyes from the pavement.

"But we both know it could never work out between us. We've hurt each other far too much and we can't forget the other people who are involved."

Smithy knew that this was true but he wanted to be with her and he was sure that if she wanted it too they could make their relationship work out somehow.

"Kerry..."

"Don't Smithy, I can't." Feeling better after being sick, Kerry got up and headed back into the club without a backward glance even though every instinct was telling her to run back to him.

_Every time I think of us my eyes are filled with tears  
To think that I gave in to sweet temptation  
His words like music to my ears  
I hope it's not too late  
That you still await  
Oh please tell me that you're still having faith _

Honey broke away from Dan slowly, a gentle smile playing around her lips. Dan smiled too, pulling her into his arms as a slightly slower song came on. Honey relaxed into his arms and met his lips with hers again, slowly at first and then more and more passionately. When the song came to an end Dan lead Honey away from the dancefloor by the hand. She smiled up at him, as they stood watching the other couples dancing.

"Do you want to get out of here?" He asked, whispering in her ear.

Honey knew what he meant by this. She nodded, smiling at him radiantly and taking her turn to lead him out of the pub.

Everything was going well until they reached the entrance of the Pub, as they were leaving Will Fletcher was just entering. Things became awkward for a while, Honey was still angry and upset at how Will had treated her and Dan was protective of Honey and still felt betrayed by someone who was supposed to be his best friend.

"Hello." Will greeted them, trying his best to smile genuinely at them.

Dan blanked him completley but Honey said hello back.

"You together now then?" Will slurred. "It took you long enough." He laughed drunkenly.

"What's it to you?" Dan demanded, instantly on his guard and feeling denfensive.

Will shrugged. "It won't last."

Honey looked at him in surprise, how dare he?

"Oh, and what makes you say that?" Dan fired back.

"Look how quickly she dropped me." Will smirked which only infuriated Dan further.

"Take that back!" Dan said, raising his voice. Honey wanted to get away but she knew she couldn't leave Dan and Will alone together, not if she wanted to find her boyfriend in one piece.

"She's just using you mate!" Will taunted, knowing he would get a reaction from Dan.

Dan lunged forward, punching him hard in the stomach. Honey could bear it no longer and fled from the club, leaving Will and Dan behind her.

_My heart cries out to you  
You must forgive me  
I've been dancing in the dark  
I've been searching for a spark  
Of fire still burning  
_

Phil kissed Sam more passionatley, their mouths meeting again and again without pausing for breath. Finally they had to come up for air and they grinned at each other. There was nothing awkward between them now and they didn't feel as embarrassed as they had the night of the Christmas party when they had parted in the cold night air and had driven home separatley. Now was different and Sam knew for sure that she didn't want to go home on her own tonight. Phil didn't either, he'd been given a second chance with Sam and he wanted to make the best of it. He knew that he had hurt her recently and he knew that this time he would do anything to make sure that she saw how much he really cared for her.

Sam knew what she was feeling and was pretty convinced that it was more than just the alcohol talking. It had just released her inhibitions and made her see that she still had all those old feelings for Phil even though she had done her best to bury them. There had always been chemistry between them and now Sam was beginning to see how strong the spark between them was. They were very similiar in some ways, they both had children who they didn't see often, were both commited to their jobs and shared the same sense of humour but they both had enough differences to make a relationship work between them. The only thing holding Sam back was the thought that Phil might desert her again or have an affair with another woman. She didn't know how she would cope if he ever did that to her.

_I believe we'll make it through  
If you stand by me  
We can weather any storm  
And keep each other warm  
As long as there's love _

The darkness and silence of the atmosphere in the bedroom was shattered, as Andrea and Neil were roused out of their sleep by Neil's phone beeping and filling the room with blue light. Andrea groaned inwardly as Neil climbed out of the warm bed and in search of his mobile phone which lead about three feet away on the bedroom floor. She rolled over onto her side and turned away from him, wrapping the covers more tightly around her body.  
"I've got to go, I'm sorry." Neil told her, apologetic as always but it still didn't stop Andrea from feeling like she was being used.  
"Yeah okay, whatever." She dismissed in a sleepy voice, although she felt as wide awake as she usually did after a triple shot of espresso.  
Neil couldn't help feeling a little bit hurt by this but he knew that whatever he was feeling wasn't anywhere near half as bad as the pain Andrea was going through. He wished loving her didn't have to hurt them both so much.  
"I'll see myself out." Neil said, knowing it was inadequate and probably quite insensitive. Whenever this situation arose, which was far too often, he always felt like he couldn't do right for doing wrong. "I'll see you tomorrow then."  
Andrea murmured something back that Neil didn't catch. He quickly dressed and walked around to her side of the bed. He leant forward to kiss her lips but Andrea moved her head at the last moment and he ended up just pecking her cheek. Although it was the last thing he really wanted to do, Neil knew that the best move would be to go. Taking one last look at her, he left the room and padded down the hallway until he reached the front door. Shutting the front door behind him, he pulled his jacket on and headed for his car, an overwhelming sense of dread washing over him.

_Hmmm  
But faith is not mine  
And if I could I'd unturn  
The hands of time.  
My heart cries out to you  
You must forgive me  
I've been dancing in the dark  
I've been searching for a spark  
Of fire still burning _

Zain casually draped his arm around Suzie's shoulders and wondered what her reaction would be; in truth they were both too drunk to mind anyway. Suzie turned her head to look at him and tried to hide her surprise. She placed her head on his shoulder and they sat together in silence for a while. They had watched as Smithy and Kerry had sat together on the wall outside the club and they both thought this would be the moment that they finally got back together. Sadly not and now they were both surprised to see Kerry leaving the club with another man, a man Suzie recognised. She couldn't believe Kerry would turn down the chance to rekindle her romance with Smithy and go off with someone like Ross. Suzie came back to reality and saw that Zain was looking at her closely. She blushed a little and looked away, she looked back at him after a few seconds and their faces moved a few nervous centimeters closer to each other. Just when Suzie thought something was going to happen, she saw Honey running towards them, tears streaming down her face mixed with her black mascara.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Suzie asked, stepping up and walking towards her.

Zain sighed, just when he had been about to finally summon the nerve to kiss her. But this was the side of Suzie that he really liked and wanted to see more of.

_I believe we'll make it through  
If you stand by me  
We can weather any storm  
And keep each other warm  
As long as there's love  
Never enough love  
_


	8. Anything For You

**A Public Affair  
Chapter 8: Anything For You**

_

* * *

Sorry for not updating sooner! Real life keeps getting in the way! Half term in two weeks and I will do my best to update as many fics as I can then! For an SP fans, My Big Mistake Ch12 will be up v soon and if you are a KS fan the next chap of Cold Feet will be up this week sometime I hope! Please review, love you guys! Vikki xxx  
P.s Ooh the ruler tool works! Oh and I don't own Anything For You by Evanescence!

* * *

_

_I'd give anything to give me to you_

_Can you forget the world_

_You thought you knew_

_If you want me_

_Come and find me_

_(I'm here for you)_

_Nothing's stopping you so please release me_

Suzie put her arms around her friend and hugged Honey tightly. She cried into Suzie's shoulder as Zain watched awkwardly from a safe distance. He didn't want to get up and leave but at the same time he didn't want to intrude into Suzie and Honey's private conversation either. When Honey didn't reply to Suzie's questions about what was wrong the detective put two and two together.

"Is it Dan?" She asked.

Honey mouth a 'yes'.

"What happened?" Suzie asked, she thought that finally Honey and Dan were getting the chance they deserved at happiness.

Honey took a few deep breaths and wiped her eyes.

"It was all going great, we were dancing together and we kissed. We were just about to leave together when Will showed up." Honey stopped as a fresh wave of tears broke out.

"Ohh." Suzie replied, understanding better now. Ever since their short fling, Will had always been a sore point with Honey and they tried to avoid each other at all costs, especially when Dan was around. Honey shivered and Suzie put an arm around her shoulders. "Come on, let's get you home. I'm sure Zain won't mind driving us."

Honey smiled a little and waited while Suzie went to ask Zain if he was okay to drive them home. The two of them hadn't had too much to drink and most of the effects of the alcohol had disappeared by now. Zain walked them to his car and Suzie got into the passenger seat while Honey climbed into the back. She felt a lot better for talking through what she was feeling but she was still dreading going to work the next day.

_I'll believe all your lies_

_Just pretend you love me_

_Make believe, close your eyes_

_I'll be anything for you_

Zain dropped Honey off at her flat and Suzie made sure she got inside safely. Once she was back in the car, Zain looked at her expectantly.

"What?" Suzie asked, her hair falling over her face like a curtain as she reached over to clip her seatbelt in. The darkness in the car didn't help and she struggled to do her seatbelt up. Zain saw that she was having difficulties and tried to help her. He pushed her hair aside gently, trying to ignore how soft it felt against his fingers. He took the seatbelt from her hands and pushed it in for her. She looked up at him, shaking her hair back, and smiled. Their faces were centimetres from each other, they grinned at each other nervously.

"Thank you." Suzie whispered, her cheeks flushing pinker by the second.

Zain's hand remained on the seatbelt and the other rested on the back of Suzie's seat. They stared at each other in silence for a moment and then simultaneously moved closer and closer together. Suddenly they were kissing as if this was something that happened all the time, all of their reservations slipped away as their lips and tongues met.

_Nothing left to make me feel anymore_

_There's only you and everyday_

_I need more_

_If you want me_

_Come and find me_

_I'll do anything you say just tell me_

"Don't you dare ever leave me." Sam muttered, thinking out loud as she and Phil took their coats off and hung them up in the hallway. Phil knew he had to take things slow between them tonight, he couldn't believe Sam was giving him another chance. This time there was no way he was going to do anything to blow it.

"What did you say?" Phil asked.

Sam shook her head in embarrassment. "Nothing Phil, would you like a coffee?" She asked to change the subject.

"Yeah please." He replied, he wasn't sure if he had heard her right and clearly she didn't want to repeat what she had said. Instead he followed her into the kitchen and watched as she made the coffee. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No, it's fine thanks." She smiled, putting coffee and sugar into both of the mugs.

"Okay." Phil replied, the silence between them only filled by the kettle boiling. A little while later Sam handed Phil a cup of coffee and they went through to the lounge. The silence continued.

"You didn't come back here with me for coffee did you?" Sam asked, Phil nearly spat his mouthful of coffee out.

"I'm sorry?"

Sam smiled ironically. "You didn't come home with me tonight just so you could come back here and have a cup of coffee when you could be having one at your own house."

"Actually I did, your coffee is always excellent and the company ain't half bad either." Phil replied, recovering himself from before, the usual twinkle came back into his eyes.

Sam laughed, somehow he could always make her feel better about herself.

"About what you said before?" Phil knew he was pushing his luck now but he had to know. "In the hallway. If you gave me the chance you know I never would."

Sam put her coffee cup down, somehow coffee didn't seem so important right now.

_I'll believe all your lies_

_Just pretend you love me_

_Make believe, close your eyes_

_I'll be anything for you  
I'll believe all your lies_

_Just pretend you love me_

_Make believe, close your eyes_

_I'll be anything for you_

"Philippa." Neil stated as he walked in through the front door of the house they shared, if only occassionally. His voice was low so that he would not wake their young son Jake.

"Neil." Mrs. Manson replied in a similar tone.

"You said it was an emergency." He said, taking off his jacket and hanging it up on a spare hook.

"Yes." Philippa said, following him into the house. "I was about to report you as missing."

"I said I had to work." Neil replied firmly.

"That's getting old Neil. I may not be a detective Neil but I'm not blind or stupid. I know something is going on." Philippa had raised her voice so much that Neil had to back away from her.

"Pippa, you're going to wake Jake."

She glared at him but lowered her voice. "Speaking of Jake, how do you think he feels? He barely ever gets to see him, you're his father Neil. Or have you forgotten that?"

"Of course not. You know how much I love Jake."

Philippa looked at the floor and sighed. "I know, I know, it's just that I feel you don't love me anymore and that means you avoid spending time with him."

Neil sighed too and pulled his wife into his arms but all he could see was Andrea's face. How was he ever going to choose between these two women he loved in different ways?

_Anything for you..._

_I'll become your earth and sky_

_Forever never die_

_I'll be, everything you need_

Smithy went and sat inside his car, he knew he shouldn't drive, he was far too drunk for that and he didn't want to get stopped or worse cause an accident. So he just sat their and watched people coming in and out of the club. He saw groups of friends laughing together and couples with their arms around each other or holding hands, every couple he saw reminded him of himself and Kerry. He let out a sigh and watched a blonde woman walking passed his car with a tall man with black hair. For a moment he thought it could be Kerry but he dismissed that straight away, she had probably gone home by now. As the couple got closer he realised it was Kerry. Who the hell was this man with his arm around her waist! He knew he had hardly treated her well but he knew that Kerry was drunk and probably wasn't thinking straight. Every impulse in his body wanted to jump out of the car and take her away from whoever this man was but she knew she couldn't, it was Kerry's life to live not his, however much he wanted it to be.

Kerry relaxed into Ross' body as they walked to his car, he had drunk far too much to be driving but she had drunk too much to notice or mind. It felt good to be treated well by a man and Ross had treated her so well since her episode with Smithy. She was certain that she had made the right decision in telling him that things weren't working between them but was that just the alcohol talking? Somehow being with Ross felt right for the moment but maybe that had something to do with the rohipnol running through her veins, making her a willing victim.

_I'll believe all your lies_

_Just pretend you love me_

_Make believe, close your eyes_

_I'll be anything for you_

Mia and Mickey arrived back at Mickey's flat a while later and he invited Mia up, she accepted straight away. They lead in each other's arms on the sofa for a while, talking and kissing. They were about to head through to Mickey's bedroom when his phone began to vibrate in the coffee table beside them.

Mickey picked it up, his heart sinking as he saw 'Jack calling' on the display.

"I'm so sorry Mia, I've got to get this."

Mia shrugged. "It's okay Mickey, I understand."

He smiled gratefully at her before answering the call.

"Jack? What is it? It's kinda late guv."

"I know." The DCI replied. "But this is urgent, is Mia with you?"

"Uh, yeah." Mickey knew better than to lie.

"Good, bring her with you." Then he hung up and Mickey looked at Mia in confusion.


	9. Hard To Beat

**A Public Affair  
****Chapter 9 : Hard To Beat**

* * *

Thanks to everyone who reviewed:D Will try and update this fic again while I'm on half term! It's so good to actually have time to write! There's not any Honey/Dan this time but they'll be in the next chapter! Please keep reviewing and tell me what you like, what you don't and what you'd like to happen! Luv you all! Vikki xxx  
P.s - the song is Hard to Beat by Hard Fi!

* * *

_I've seen you darling, seen you hanging round town_

_You in a short skirt, shining eyes of deep brown_

_You had a dirty look, you caught me on your hook_

_Turn up the thermostat, I want to see you sweat_

_Oh yeah, girl, you've got something I like..._

Samantha woke up and untangled herself from the arms and legs were wrapped around her. She couldn't believe that she had given in to Phil Hunter's charms sometime late last night. After he had let her down before when Kate had come back into his life, Sam had promised herself that she would never let him get to her again. She thought she had protected her heart against him but she could see now that she hadn't and probably never had. Part of her really didn't want to love him; she didn't want to be just another notch on his bedpost or another conquest but she didn't want to give up the chance to be with him either. Phil had proved himself worthy of her recently but Sam still wasn't sure if this was because he felt guilty about the Kate situation. Sam had let that go now but it still made her insecure, Phil's treatment of Kate worried her. She wondered if he would treat her the same if she found herself in similar circumstances. Dismissing these thoughts for the moment she knew she had to think of the the present rather than the future or the past. Sam slippped out of her bed, picked up her towel and dressing gown and headed for the bathroom.

When she came back from having her shower, Sam saw that Phil had woken up. She wasn't quite sure how to act around him now that they had slept together. Phil felt exactly the same but he was determined not to blow this second chance that he had been given.

"Morning Sam." He smiled, when she came back into the bedroom.

"Hey." She smiled back, going over to the wardrobe to find a clean suit and top.

"I thought maybe we could take the day off?" Phil suggested, feeling slightly sheepish now that he had said it out loud.

Sam grinned, letting the clothes fall to the floor as she walked back over to the bed.

_I walked right over, said 'hi, how ya doin'_

_You smiled at me and girl you tore right through me_

_I said come on let's dance, we've got to take our chance_

_You whispered in my ear, you wanna get out of here_

Kerry woke up the next morning in surroundings that were completley unfamiliar to her. For a moment she was disorientated and it took a while for the memories of the night before to come flooding back, bringing with them a throbbing headache. For a milisecond she wondered if she had woken up in Smithy's bed but she knew it too well and she remembered painfully the way she had let him down the night before, and not gently either. Her memory became complete when she rolled over to see that she had once again fallen into bed with the wrong man. Ross had seemed decent enough when she had first met him earlier that night, he was fun and flirty which was just what Kerry needed but after what had happened she was sure that she wouldn't have wanted to go home with someone. Kerry couldn't believe she had done this again, she felt dirty and used. Emotion caught in her throat, how could she have let this happen again? And how was she going to get out of her without Ross waking up. She definetly would choose to chew her own arm off than wake him.

Smithy woke up, cold and alone in his double bed which seemed far too large now. It had been empty since the last time he and Kerry had slept together before they broke up. Somehow Smithy felt that he would be betraying her by bringing someone else home. He still loved her so much but after seeing her with Ross he was certain that she no longer felt the same about him. He got up and showered before going downstairs to make breakfast although eating was one of the last things he felt like doing. Just as the toast popped up he heard the doorbell ring. Smithy looked at his watch, it was still only seven thirty, who would be calling now? He unlocked the front door and Kerry literally fell into his arms.

_Can you feel it? Rocking the city_

_Ah yeah, straight out of nowhereness_

_Like a fist,can't resist you, oh no_

_I tell you something_

_You know I love ya, just wanna touch ya_

_Stand up, knock me right off my feet_

_Hard to beat, hard to beat, hard to beat._

Mia still couldn't get her head around it, why would someone target her like this? What had she ever done to hurt anyone? Fair enough, her relationship with Mickey, although still fairly new, had had it's ups and downs but being with him wasn't hurting anyone else. Neither of them had any jealous ex girlfriends or boyfriends to worry about but still someone was responsible for this. Mickey sensed her pain and held her hand tightly in his under the DCI's where they were waiting for more news. Jack had got them both cups of hot, black coffee to help to sober them up but by now they were already as alert as they were twelve hours earlier. Mia didn't trust herself to speak, nodding and shaking her head seemed difficult enough, Mickey knew where she was coming from. His past was hardly a walk in the park and he felt for Mia now.

"When can I go back home?" Mia asked, nearly choking on her words.

Jack looked at her sympathetically. "Maybe it would be better if you stayed with Mickey for a little while."

"Oh okay." She replied.

Mickey placed his free hand on her shoulder.

"You can stay as long as you like, you know that."

Mia almost managed a smile. "Thank you."

"Scene of crime officers and forensics are down there at the moment, as soon as the scene is released you can go back home."

Mia nodded slowly but it was Mickey who spoke. "Do you we know who the...uh...victim is?" He asked.

Jack shook his head. "Not yet, the extent of the damage to the body has made it hard to know and there was no identification."

"I don't understand." Mia spoke more confidentely for the first time, holding her head up. "Why would anyone want to do this?"

Jack looked down at the desk before meeting her eyes. "We think someone was trying to frame you."

"Who?" Mia asked, still confused. Mickey's hand tightened around her's.

"Delaney." He stated, swallowing hard.

_Let's spend the night, spend the night together_

_Heart beating so fast as you take my shirt off_

_This girl I saw round town, well now she's going down_

_Stuck on a losing streak, I think you turned it round_

_Oh yeah, girl, you've got something I like..._

The next natural step seemed to be for Suzie to invite Zain up to her flat for coffee. All the dutch courage she had gained from the heavy drinking of the passed fews hours had slipped away and now her old insecurities were back. She worried about not being good enough for Zain, in her own opinion she wasn't beautiful enough for him and she guessed that she wasn't the type of woman he usually went for. After the kiss, Zain tucked Suzie's hair behind her ear and stared into her dark eyes. Was he doing the right thing? He was aware that Suzie had liked him for a while now, the kiss was evidence of that but he didn't want it to seem that he was taking advantage of her. Zain knew that would be how the guys at work would react if they knew and he didn't want Suzie to feel like that. Zain realised that he had been staring at her for longer than normal and acting purely on impulse he moved closer and kissed her again. Suzie smiled to herself and she responded, pulling Zain closer to her. She had finally summoned the courage to invite him in when his mobile began to ring loudly and intrusively. Zain sighed in frustration and looked at the display, he then looked over at Suzie apologetically.

"I've got to answer it, I'm sorry. It's the DCI." He apologised.

Suzie just nodded, knowing that their job always had to come first. Zain's expression had changed when he hung up the phone.

"The DCI wants us down at the station right now, he said he'll explain when we get there but it doesn't sound good."

"Both of us?" Suzie asked.

"Yeah, something major has gone down I think." Zain replied. "We can do this again, some other time, right?" He asked, a little self consciously.

Suzie smiled in the darkness of the car. "Of course we can."

_Goodness, I've never known a night like this_

_Can't believe it, you're so hard to beat_

_Hard to beat_

_Drive me crazy, my beautiful baby_

_Spend the whole day right here together_

Neil and Philippa slept apart that night, Neil found a spare duvet and slept on the sofa and Philippa went back to bed alone. Neil looked in around Jake's door and kissed his son's sleeping head. He loved Jake so much and he didn't know if he could give him or Andrea up. It was going to be so hard but he knew his heart belonged with Andrea and not Philippa. He didn't want his son growing up with two parents who didn't love each other. Neil tossed and turned on the sofa which was getting more uncomfortable by the minute. Finally he gave up, he couldn't stay here any longer. He silently stuffed some clothes into a rucksack and walked out to his car. He felt guilty for leaving but he knew his guilt would just intensify if he stayed any longer. There was only one place he wanted to be right now.

"Neil?" Andrea asked sleepily, opening the front door of her flat and letting him in. She rubbed her eyes, still not quite believing that he was really here. The next thing she noticed was the rucksack slung over his shoulder, she raised her eyebrows at him.

"I've left her." He replied simply.

"Philippa?" Andrea asked in surprised.

Neil nodded. "I can't be with someone I don't love when my heart belongs somewhere else."

Andrea smiled before thinking of something. "What about Jake?"

"I don't want him growing up with two parents who can't stand the sight of each other, he deserves more than that."

Andrea smiled again, throwing her arms around Neil.

"Welcome home." She whispered in his ear.

_You know I love ya, just wanna touch ya_

_Stand up_, _knock me right off my feet_

_Hard to beat, hard to beat, hard to beat_

_Oh yeah, girl, you've got something I like..._

_Oh yeah, girl, you've got something I like..._


	10. Halloween

**A Public Affair  
Chapter 10: Halloween**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Sorry if I haven't been reading and reviewing your fics, blame the broken site and not giving out alerts. I'll catch up asap.  
There's no Mickey/Mia in this chapter because their storyline doesn't fit it with the Halloween party theme! Please review, I'll try and update as soon as I can, I don't think this story will go on for much longer. luv, Vikki x.**

* * *

"Hey, it's okay." Smithy soothed, taking Kerry into his arms and holding her tightly. "Everything's going to be alright, I promise"  
Kerry sobbed into his chest and he stroked her hair, trying to calm her down.  
"You can talk to me about it, you know that, don't you"  
Kerry tried to speak but her tears were coming thick and fast. She broke away from him and nodded slowly. Smithy lead her through to his living room although she already knew the way. There had been a time when Kerry had practically lived in the house, she had spent nearly every night here. The time that wasn't spent here was usually spent at her flat with Smithy. Somehow it had all gone so horribly wrong when Kerry's feelings for Cameron became involved. She still cared about him but she knew that it had been Smithy that she had realy loved all along.  
"I got really drunk last night." She began, feeling ashamed but knowing that Smithy would never judge her. "It was after you and I had...talked...I went back inside the club and I started drinking and dancing with this guy. The rest is blurry but I woke up in his bed this morning and I just feel so terrible." She broke down again, Smithy wrapped his arms around her again. Kerry rested her head on his shoulder and her tears slowly began to fade away. Smithy went out to the kitchen and poured her a glass of water. She took it and sipped it gratefully, she felt better now that she had told someone.  
"There's Halloween party tomorrow night." Smithy began a little nervously, ready for the rejection that he was sure was coming. "I wondered if you'd like to go, to take your mind off things...I mean you don't have to, it's just a suggestion"  
Kerry smiled weakly. "I think I'd like that." She replied.  
Smithy smiled too. "Do you wanna come costume shopping then?"

* * *

Sam nearly fell over from laughing so much when Phil, Zain and Suzie came out of the changing rooms at their local fancy dress costume hire shop. Phil was wearing a spiderman costume, Zain was dressed as a vampire but it was Suzie's outfit that once again surprised Sam the most. Suzie was wearing a short black dress with a red corseted top, she had on knee length black boot on and her hair was down. Sam made them all do twirls for her and she tried not to laugh.  
"You can laugh!" Phil commented, walking over to her. "We haven't seen yours yet"  
"I can't find anything I like." Sam protested.  
"And we can?" Zain replied, his leather jacket creaking whenever he moved.  
"Fine." Sam said, going off again to search through the racks and racks of costumes. Phil went back into the changing room to put his normal clothes back on. This left Suzie and Zain alone together.  
"You look great." He said quietly, not wanting Phil to overhear them.  
"Thank you." Suzie blushed, looking down at her costume self consciously. "You don't look so bad yourself, I'm liking the leathers." She whispered back. Suzie slipped her hands around his neck and kissed him. Zain smiled, kissing her back. They were so wrapped up in their own world that they didn't notice a re-dressed Phil come out of the changing room.  
"Don't mind me!" Phil said, causing a very embarrassed Suzie and Zain to break apart, red faced.  
Phil chuckled, walking passed them with his costume over one arm as he went to find Sam.

"You're not allowed to see!" Sam laughed, hiding her costume behind her as Phil found her.  
"Aww come on..." Phil tried to get off her.  
"No way." Sam giggled, moving away from him. "Where are Zain and Suzie"  
Phil raised his eyebrows. "You don't want to know!" He said, walking away from Sam and over to the till.

* * *

"Are you going to go to this Halloween party tomorrow night?" Andrea asked Neil as she lead in his arms the next morning. Neil rubbed his eyes sleepily.  
"I don't know, do you want to?" He asked her. Neil had never been a fan of attending social occassions at work or with his work colleagues. This was before though, when he was still happily married to Philippa and had a wife and child to come home to. Now that he was with Andrea he could afford to live a little more.  
"I'd like to yeah, but if you've got other ideas?" Andrea said, not wanting to sound too keen in case Neil hated the Halloween party idea.  
"No not at all, if you want to go then we'll go." Neil smiled, kissing her forehead.  
Andrea smiled too. "Cool. So, let me know when you're ready to go costume shopping"  
The look on Neil's face was priceless.

* * *

Honey Harman dragged herself up off the sofa, holding her aching head in her hand. She was no stranger to hangovers but this was worse than any she had ever had before. It could be something do with the fact that it was ten o'clock in the morning and she was still consuming alcohol at a similar to rate as she had the night before. The drink was beginning to lose it's effect though because she could still remember last night as clearly as ever. Honey went into the kitchen and looked through the fridge and her cupboards to see if she could find anything else that would help to dull her pain. All the alcohol seemed to be doing was adding to her hangover. She knew realistically that if she drank anymore she'd be sick or worse but she didn't really care anymore. Her phone beeped loudly, vibrating on the work surface where she had left it when she got in last night. Honey tried to block the sound out but it was driving her insane. It had better not be Dan, or Will for that matter, not when she was in this kind of mood. She looked at the display, it was Kerry.  
"Hello?" She answered.  
"Hi, it's Kerry. Smithy and I wondered if you were going to the Halloween party tomorrow night? Loads of people are going to be there and we want you to come too! Don't worry about Will, it's all under control. Emma is taking him out somewhere else"  
"Right okay." It was a party, what could be worse than the last one? "I'll be there."

* * *

The Canley Arms pub had been decorated for the Halloween party, it was done tastefully with black, orange and green ribbons. Any kind of cocktail that involved pumpkin was available and a band had been booked. Suzie and Zain were the first to arrive, only Phil knew about them being together and as far as they knew he hadn't told anyone yet, not even Sam it seemed. Kerry and Smithy were the next to arrive, Kerry was wearing a tinkerbell costume complete with fairy wings and Smithy was dressed in a pirate suit. Everyone around them was dressed up too which made them feel slightly less embarrassed but not much! They went over to where Suzie and Zain were sat at a table, Smithy and Zain went to the bar, leaving Suzie and Kerry alone together.  
"I am loving the outfit!" Kerry exclaimed.  
"Thank you." Suzie blushed, tugging down on her skirt again. "I like yours as well"  
Kerry thanked her and they waited for Zain and Smithy to bring them their drinks.  
"So you and Smithy..." Suzie began, knowing that things hadn't been great for them in the past.  
Kerry smirked. "So you and Zain"  
Suzie blushed. "Nothing's going on." She insisted, but just at the wrong moment. Zain concentrated on putting the tray down without spilling any of the drinks but the tension in his face was obvious. Smithy looked at Kerry in confusion but she just shrugged. Zain took the drinks off the tray before turning and walking out.  
"Sorry." Suzie excused herself, getting up and following him outside. "Zain, wait!" She called, running after him.  
Zain spun round to face, his expression half angry and half upset.  
"What?" He demanded, they were outside now and it was colder than usual for late October.  
"I'm sorry." She replied.  
Zain was still angry though. "If you don't want to be with me then just say. I'm sorry if I'm not good enough for you"  
"What the hell?" Suzie asked, taken by surprise. "It's more like I'm not good enough for you. As soon as everyone finds out they'll be thinking 'what is he doing with her?' won't they"  
"Don't be stupid Suzie." Zain replied.  
"Look, forget it Zain, we never should have done this, we should just have stayed being colleagues, friends at most"  
Zain stared at her. "Is that what you really want?" He asked quietly.  
"What do you really want?" Suzie asked instead.  
"You." He replied, pulling her into his arms and kissing her, oblivious to the stares of everyone around them.

* * *

"What's up with them?" Smithy asked, handing Kerry her drink and then sitting down beside her.  
Kerry shrugged. "I don't know. I said something about what was going on between Suzie and Zain, Suzie denied anything was going on and then Zain got really mad and stormed off"  
Smithy raised his eyebrows. "Fair enough." He took a thoughtful sip of his drink. "Zain and Suzie eh? Never saw that one coming"  
Kerry laughed. "I think it's sweet"  
"I didn't say it wasn't!" Smithy replied. The sat in silence for a while. "Would you like to dance with me"  
Kerry nodded and stood up, following Smithy to where other couples were dancing to a rare slow song.

_'To you, I would give the world  
To you, I'd never be cold  
'Cause I feel that when I'm with you  
It's alright, I know it's right  
And the songbirds keep singing  
Like they know the score  
And I love you, I love you, I love you  
Like never before'_  
Songbird - Eva Cassidy.

Kerry smiled resting her head on Smithy's shoulder as they danced. She missed this, she missed him. She was regretting telling him that she wasn't interested in giving them a second chance the night before. If she hadn't then maybe she wouldn't have fallen prey to Ross. Kerry suppressed a shudder at the though and Smithy held her tighter. She was glad that Ross wasn't here tonight, at least she hoped he wasn't.

* * *

Honey sat with Yvonne, Leela, Andrea, Lewis and a few others from the relief. They were doing most of the talking, leaving Honey just to participate occassionally to avoid them continually asking if she was alright. What had happened with Dan and Will had effected Honey more than she thought it would. Maybe it was because Honey had been close to telling Dan that she loved him until Will had turned up and both of them had ruined the evening for her. She wasn't sure if she even wanted to be with him now. Instead Honey concentrated on increasing her alcohol levels which she knew was a bad idea but didn't stop her either. The slow song that had been playing, and depressing Honey further, stopped and a more upbeat dance song came.  
"Let's dance!" Yvonne laughed standing up and refusing to take no as an answer from anybody. Honey was glad of Yvonne's suggestion it meant that their would be less of an opportunity for them to talk.  
The group split up as they danced and Honey ended up dancing with a man she recognised from the last time they had gone out as a group. Honey vaguely remembered that he had been interested in Kerry at the time but she guessed that nothing had happened seeing how close she and Smithy had become again.  
He smiled at her as they danced, when the song finished he offered to by her a drink.  
"I'm Ross." He smiled.  
"I'm Honey." She replied, smiling too.  
Ross ordered them both drinks and they sat on stools at the bar. He spotted Kerry sitting with another man and made sure that they were seated where neither of them could see him. They still didn't see them when Ross lead Honey out of the pub and back to his flat.

* * *


	11. I Want You To Stay

**A Public Affair**

**Chapter 11: I Want You To Stay**

Samantha woke up and had to suppress a laugh as she saw their costumes from the night before hanging up. She had decided to match Phil's Spiderman costume by dressing up as his love interest Mary Jane or MJ. She had made sure that she picked up a long red wig when they had been at the fancy dress shop choosing their outfits. Phil stirred beside her and she rolled over to face him, she smiled at him and she smiled back sleepily.

"Morning Sam." He said, pulling her into his arms, Sam resisted his embrace.

"We're going to be late!" She laughed as Phil pouted. "They'll be plenty of time for that later!" Sam got out of bed and headed for the shower, throwing the red wig at him on her way to the bathroom.

"Hey!" Phil shouted, clambering out of bed and running after her.

She giggled as he followed her into the bathroom, he took her face in his hands.

"I love you." Phil said, looking into her eyes as she spoke.

Sam was surprised, she thought that she and Phil had just been a casual affair so far, she didn't realise he felt this strongly about her. She smiled, kissing him gently on the lips.

"I love you too." She said, throwing caution to the wind, forgetting all about how Phil had hurt her in the past. That was then and this was now.

Honey woke up in a strange bed and instantly felt her body go rigid with panic, her inside freezing as memories flooded back to her from the night before. Dan opened the door and walked into the room, then everything began making sense to her.

She and Ross had been walking out of the Pub together the night before, Honey had been more than slightly worse for wear. Honey grabbed onto Ross' arm for support and he had lead her to where he claimed his car was parked. Without warning he had suddenly thrown Honey against the cold wall of a disused building. The wall was cold against her bare back and arms and Ross pinned her down so that she couldn't move. Honey screamed, fighting against him to breakaway but her resistance only made him more angry. Ross kissed her neck, biting the skin and making Honey scream louder. She was a police officer and she wasn't going to let him get away with raping her. Honey came across rape victims on an almost day to day basis and she wasn't going to be one of them. Just as she was mustering all of her strength to fight him off she heard running footsteps getting closer and closer. To start with Honey panicked that it was going to be one of Ross' friends.

"Honey?" She heard a surprised voice ask, it was a very familiar voice too. She closed her eyes and felt Ross' weight shift off her body. Ross fell to the floor as Honey's feet as she opened her eyes and she saw that Dan was stood there. She had honestly never been more glad to see him in her life. Dan kicked in Ross in the stomach and then pulled him roughly to his feet.

"I'm arresting you for the attempted rape of Police Constable Honey Harman." Dan snapped on the handcuffs and called the station to get Ross taken to a cell.

Then he took Honey by the hand and took her back to his house.

"Morning." Dan said, still standing in the door way and unsure of his next move.

"Morning." Honey replied, sitting up in bed and holding the covers tightly around her. "Thank you for last night Dan."

"It was nothing. Are you sure you're okay?" He asked, taking one step forward.

Honey nodded. "I'll be fine, thanks to you." She smiled.

Dan smiled too. "I'm really sorry about everything that happened with Will and everything. I really stuffed things up for us."

Honey shrugged. "It wasn't just you..."

"It was." Dan said, finally summoning the courage to enter the room properly. He sat on the edge of the bed. "I don't want to lose you Honey, last night really made he realise that...it made me realise..." He stopped.

Honey took his hand. "Realise what?"

"That I love you."

Suzie and Zain had given up on the party and they decided to head home instead. Both Suzie and Zain were slightly wary of letting everyone know about their relationship but it didn't mean that either of them were ashamed of it. They went to the car park and got into Zain's car which he had left there. On the way back to Zain's house they decided to stop off at the Indian takeaway for a curry each. They drove home with their meal and Suzie couldn't hide her surprise when she saw Zain's flat which she had never been to before.

"It's not much...nothing special." Zain said self consciously when they pulled up outside and he saw that Suzie was looking closely at the building.

"It's much better than my place." Suzie said as she and Zain got out of the car.

"I wouldn't bet on that!" Zain laughed, leading the way to the front door. He got forks out of the kitchen drawers and they went to eat their curries in the living room.

They sat together talking and eating until they couldn't face anymore spicy food. Zain got them a glass of water each and brought in a bottle of his favourite, but expensive, white wine.

"Wow!" Suzie exclaimed, used to drinking cheap supermarket red wine. "That must have cost you a fortune."

Zain just smiled and poured them a glass each. "I hope you like it."

Suzie sipped it, watching Zain as he sat down and drank from his own glass. She suddenly felt awkward again, so far their relationship had not gone far but she hoped it would. Suzie was still aware of her feeling of not being good enough for Zain and she knew if anything happened tonight there probably wouldn't be any turning back. She was surprised again when Zain took her wine glass out of her hand and put it down on the coffee table, he put his own glass next to it.

Zain stroked her hair back from her face and kissed her lips gently at first and then with more passion and hunger. Suzie kissed him back, pulling him closer to her by wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Zain asked breathlessly when they finally came up for air.

Suzie nodded, kissing him again before she changed her mind, although she doubted she would. Zain slipped out of his leather jacket as Suzie kissed him. He unzipped the back of her dress, kissing down her neck as he did so. Suzie slipped out of the dress and let Zain lead her upstairs leaving their wine glasses still half full.

Smithy woke up on the sofa and felt the springs dig into his body, he had forgotten how uncomfortable it was for sleeping on. Kerry was sleeping in his bed, she hadn't wanted to go home to her own empty house after what had happened with Ross a few nights before. They had found out from Dan that Ross had tried the same trick with Honey and he had been arrested. Kerry was willing to give evidence against if Honey was and they were both going to go down to the station to give witness statements that afternoon. Smithy got up and made tea and toast for them both. Kerry came out of the room as she smelt the breakfast cooking, she was wearing one of Smithy's oversized West Ham football shirts and her hair was a total mess but to Smithy she still looked perfect.

"Something smells good." She smiled, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"I didn't know you liked the smell of burnt toast." Smithy joked, putting a plate and a mug down in front of her.

"Thank you Gordon!" Kerry laughed in reply.

Smithy cocked an eyebrow at her. "Are you making fun of my culinarily abilities Miss Young?"

Kerry laughed, shaking her head. "Maybe you should prove to me how good you are at cooking Mr Smith."

"Maybe I should." Smithy smirked. "How about tonight?" He added, acting on impulse as he had no idea what to cook for Kerry at such short notice.

"You're on." Kerry finished the last mouthful of toast and swallowed the last of her tea. "Do you mind giving me a lift home? I want to look a bit more respectable for this afternoon. I don't think my Tinkerbell costume or your West Ham shirt will really do me any favours!"

Smithy drove her home, promising to take her to station later even though Kerry told him she would be okay. He wanted to be with her every step of the way, he wasn't sure if they had a proper chance but if they did he wanted to take it.

Andrea woke up in Neil's arms for the third day in a row, she could certainly get used to this. Usually he crept away in the middle of the night but now that he had officially ended things with his wife Neil was living with her. The only complication was Neil's son Jake, Andrea had never actually met him and she doubted that the little boy would like the woman who had split up his family. When Neil had suggest that he, Andrea and Jake spend the day together she had been very unsure but she was slowly warming to the idea. She understood that if Neil was a part of her life Jake would have to be as well. She was in for a surprise when she met him though.

Philippa dropped Jake Manson off at eleven that morning and Andrea made sure that she wasn't around while Neil's ex wife to be was there. As soon as Philippa had left, Andrea came to the door to meet Jake. Andrea had never been a lover of children but there was something about Jake that she was drawn to. He was the spitting image of his father and had eager, intelligent eyes.

"Hi Jake!" She said, trying to be as friendly as possible.

"Hi Andrea." Jake replied politely. She smiled at the little boy.

"Would you like some ice cream?" She asked.

Jake nodded eagerly, his concerns about this visit disappearing. "What flavour?" He asked, a little wary now.

"How does chocolate sound?" Andrea asked.

"Yum!" Jake said, running into the kitchen. Andrea smiled at Neil as they followed at a slower pace.

"He's a great kid." She said quietly.

Neil nodded, he loved Andrea but he hadn't realised how much he was going to miss his son.

"The Crime Scene Examiners have finished, the scene has been released and the body has been autopsied." Jack Meadows was telling Mickey Webb and Mia Perry. "You can go back to your home now Mia."

She just nodded, she was still shocked and what had happened still hadn't sunk it properly. Mickey had let her stay with him for the past two nights and he had had to explain to her about Martin Delaney. Mickey had been worried about Mia's reaction but she had been understanding and it had brought the two of the closer. It had helped her to understand what had happened although she still couldn't actually believe someone would target her to get at Mickey. It had transpired that Martin Delaney had once again broken out of prison, it had been decided that it was safe for him to move from the high security prison to a lower security one. Clearly this had been a mistake and a key witness from a previous case involving Martin Delaney had paid the price. Now Delaney was safely back in a high security cell and he wasn't coming out for a good long time. Now Mia and Mickey had to pick up the pieces, they were lucky that Delaney hadn't broken them apart which was probably his intention. Mickey realised now much he loved Mia and this time he wasn't letting her go without a fight; Mia wasn't prepared to give up either. This time Martin Delaney wasn't going to win.


	12. Collide

**A Public Affair  
Chapter 12: Collide**

Well, here goes the final chapter! It's a bit of a lame ending but I wanted to finish this fic! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed: Emma, Ami, NorthernStar, Mabeline, Babybel, Beccy, Gem6, Lornz, Vicki, Abi, Manson fanatic, Bex, x Kate x, Leanne, Storm, PhilSam4ever, Jacqui, Strizzy, SingingWitch, Bawbert, Chelsee, Twinkle100, Toyaeroplanes, Rosyn Anwylaeth and Loz06. - Wow that's a lot of you, thanks so much!!!  
Oh, by the way the song is 'Collide' by Howie Day from the film 'The Perfect Man'!  
Thanks again, love u lots! Vikki xXx

_

* * *

_

The dawn is breaking

_A light shining through  
You're barely waking_

_And I'm tangled up in you_

After a successful day together Neil dropped Jake off at Philippa's house at the end of the afternoon. It was hard for Philippa to be civil to Neil but they were both trying their harest for the sake of their son, although she didn't want to be she was pleased that Jkae had enjoyed his day with Neil and Andrea. Philippa held Jake's hand as he waved to his father as he drove away, she hated the fact that he wouldn't ever be coming home to her but it was a chance for them all to move on. Now it was her turn.

Neil smiled to himself as he drove back to his and Andrea's flat. He was happy with how the day had gone and the way that Jake had reacted to Andrea. Neil knew it must be hard to for him to adjust to having two mother figures in his life and having two separate homes but he was glad that he was getting used to it. The thought of going home to Andrea made him smile even more, he never remembered love being like this when he was with Philippa. There was so much more chemistry between him and Andrea, more spark, more passion and just more love. They seemed to know more about each other than Neil and Philippa had after years of marriage.

Andrea was waiting for him at the front door and they both smiled when they saw each other. Neil knew that he had made the right decision, he knew he was going to miss seeing Jake everyday but as soon as they got the spare room ready he could stay whenever he wanted to.

_I'm open, you're closed_

_Where I follow, you'll go_

_I worry I won't see your face_

_Light up again_

Smithy pulled up outside Kerry's flat and waited for her to come out. She had dressed simply in jeans, a v-neck deep pink top and a black jacket. He felt sorry for her, she had been through enough already without this adding to it. Kerry smiled when she saw him, she was glad that he was there for her. This wasn't going to be easy but at least she had Smithy and Honey on her side.

"You know you said you were going to cook for me tonight?" Kerry said as Smithy drove them towards Sun Hill Police Station.

Smithy nodded. "Yeah."

"Well I was wondering if we could do it another time..."

"My toast wasn't that bad was it?" Smithy joked.

Kerry laughed. "No, it's not that. We were thinking of all going out tonight, Honey and I need some cheering up and everyone else is up for it."

"That's fine Kerry, but it was only last night that we last went out as a group."

Kerry looked at him and laughed. "And your point is!"

Honey and Dan were waiting in the reception area when Kerry and Smithy arrived. Honey hugged Kerry and they both went through to the interview rooms where they would be interviewed by CID officers. Dan and Smithy would also be interviewed but the important information had to come from Kerry and Honey.

"How did it go?" Smithy asked when they came back out to the reception area half an hour later.

Honey was crying and Kerry looked very upset too.

"It was okay." Kerry choked out and Honey nodded.

Fifteen minutes later, after signing their statements, the four of them were allowed to go and they went home, looking forward to drowing their sorrows later that night.

_Even the best fall down sometimes_

_Even the wrong words seem to rhyme_

_Out of the doubt that clouds my mind_

_I somehow find_

_That you and I collide._

Mickey drove Mia to her front door and waited with the engine running as she put on her coat and picked her handbag up from the floor of the car. She held her head up high and began to walk towards her front door, she just hoped she was strong enough to face her house. It looked just the same as when she had last left it but she couldn't forget what had happened here. Mia turned back, she knew it wasn't fair to rely on Mickey, he must be feeling much worse than her.

"Would you come in with me?" She forced out. Mickey nodded and turned off the ignition, in a way he was grateful, he didn't fancy going home alone either. Not after the turbulent forty eight hours that had just passed.

Mia waited for him to get out of his car and lock it. Mickey walked up to her, took her hand firmly in his and they walked into her house. Together.

_I'm quiet, you know_

_You make a first impression_

_I've found I'm scared to know_

_I'm always on your mind_

"You look so beautiful." Phil said, looking at Sam in awe as she stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom; their bedroom, and applied the last of her eye make up.

She blushed a little and studied herself in the mirror more critically. Phil came up behind her and kissed her gently on the neck. Sam smiled, turning around to kiss him on the lips.

"We're going to be late...again!" Sam laughed, catching sight of the alarm clock next to her bed; their bed.

"Let's go then!" Phil said, picking up his phone and wallet and putting them in his trouser pockets.

Sam took Phil's hand and they walked to the car together. Who would have thought that four and a half years down the line, after heartache, betrayal and angst, that Sam and Phil would finally be together.

_Even the best fall down sometimes_

_Even the wrong words seem to rhyme_

_Out of the doubt that clouds my mind_

_I somehow find_

_That you and I collide._

Suzie waited for Zain to pick her up, her old nerves returning again. After last night she was still worried that everything they had might end and they might just end up going back to being colleagues, friends at stretch. When Zain came to the front door, Suzie felt a rush of adrenaline through her body and subconsciously part of her knew that Zain felt the same.

"Hey," He smiled, leaning forward to brush his lips against Suzie's. "You ready to go?"

Suzie nodded and followed Zain outside, locking the front door behind her.

When the arrived at the club, most of the Sun Hill lot were already there and they waved Suzie and Zain over to their table and made room for them. They took two seats between Neil and Kerry and joined in the conversation with everyone else. Mia and Mickey had decided that a quiet night in would do them good but everyone else was there.

_Don't stop here_

_I lost my place  
I'm close behind  
Even the best fall down sometimes_

_Even the wrong words seem to rhyme_

_Out of the doubt that clouds my mind_

_I somehow find_

_That you and I collide.  
_

"Do you want to dance?" Smithy asked Kerry, she was a still a little fragile from the ordeal with Ross and having to give a statement but he would be there for her every step of the way.

Kerry nodded and got up, Honey and Dan joined them and eventually the rest of the couples made their way to the dancefloor. Honey rested her head against Dan's shoulder, if only Will hadn't turned up the last time they were together, but that was all in the past now and they were together again as they should be. Kerry was almost grateful to Ross, maybe if it hadn't been for him she wouldn't be dancing here in Smithy's arms just like they used to. Sam and Phil danced together too, watching the couples around them, Suzie and Zain danced a little further away and Neil and Andrea sat at the table talking and laughing. Finally they decided that they would get up and dance too.

"You know." Andrea said, as she leant against Neil's body as they danced together. "Maybe we should have girls nights out more often if they turn out like this!"

_You finally find_

_That you and I _

_Collide._


End file.
